January 2012
Our second graders enjoyed a presentation by Mr. Wood from John Marshall High School. He and three of his students explained many details about predicting the weather. We enjoyed learning methods of determining weather patterns!
FIRE
VICTIMS
We were saddened when one of our students lost his home to fire just before Christmas. It made for a difficult holiday for them. We did a call out on the automated system at 2:00 on the last day of school and by dismissal time people began to arrive at school with donated items. In fact, by 2:00 on December 22 we delivered two truck loads of needed items as well as gifts. The family was most appreciative and would like to express gratitude to the CMES family. Grandmother said, “If I could give everybody from this school a hug I would, THANK YOU!”
This outpouring of assistance and support is the ultimate learning for our students. Teaching by example is our best means of teaching young children. Thank you to everyone who helped in this difficult situation.Tutoring Tutoring is available for students in grades K-5 on Tuesdays and Thursdays. Both morning and afternoon times are available. Morning tutoring begins at 7:15 and after school tutoring ends at 3:45. Please follow the scheduled times for drop off and pick up. Thank you.
IMMUNIZATION
REQUIREMENT FOR OLDER STUDENTS:
Parents if you have an older child who will be entering 7th or 12th grade next year there will be new immunization requirements. Seventh grade students will have to have proof of a booster dose of the Tdap vaccine which protects against tetanus, diphtheria, and pertussis (whooping cough) and proof of a dose of MCV4 (meningitis) vaccine. The twelfth grade students must show proof of a single dose of Tdap, plus a booster dose of MCV4 if the first dose of MCV4 was given before the child’s 16th birthday. These immunizations will be required and students will not be allowed to attend school without proof of immunization. If a student has a medical exemption then the student’s doctor must request a review of the exemption from the local health officer at the Marshall County Health Department.
The month of December was a very CARING month at Center McMechen, as students learned about the “caring” pillar of character. One highlight was when the 5th grade service group of the month adopted Appalachian Outreach as their service project. The 5th graders worked with 2nd graders to plan and implement a collection of hats, gloves and mittens for needy children in WV. Thank you to both the 5th and 2nd graders. Because of their efforts over 100 gloves/mittens, 50 hats, and several scarves were collected. Special thanks also to music teacher, Kathy Fox, who included the collection in her holiday program, Mr. (Dusty) Willis, for helping with the tree, secretary, Mrs. Yoders for counting the items, second grade teachers for donating supplies for the paper mittens for the tree, and principal, Mr. Yoder in delivering everything to Appalachian outreach. We received a thank you from Rose Hart, director of Appalachian outreach for our generous work and our caring attitude. She noted that the items will be taken next week to Logan County to take care of needs there.
I’m proud to be a part of the caring Center McMechen team!
Free breakfast for all students begins on September 12. Not only is it free but students will have the option of eating a larger breakfast or enjoying our “grab and go” food items. Either way we hope all students will take advantage of this nutritious way to start the day from 7:30 Am to 8:05 AM.!
Our safety patrol students are doing a good job keeping us safe at arrival and dismissal. I would like to remind students of our simple rules:1. Cross only at the crossing zone
2. Enter and Exit cars on the passenger side
3. No running or pushing
4. Always walk on the sidewalkA related concern is that of the safety of our patrol students. Chief Robinson patrols the neighborhood, visits bus stops, and stops by our patrol area every morning. He tries to position himself at Center McMechen sometime between 7:45 and 8:00. If you would like to help supervise the safety patrol please contact Mr. Yoder. A schedule could be established to allow adults to sign up for a week at a time.
PROFESSIONAL LEARNING COMMUNITY
AFFECTS SCHOOL WEDNESDAY SCHEDULE
Across Marshall County all schools will continue to utilize the PLC schedule. The Wednesday one hour delay schedule (9:05 start) allows opportunities for teachers to meet in Professional Learning Communities (PLCs). During PLC time on Wednesday mornings teachers will take a close look at successes and difficulties of students. They will maintain a focus on school improvement through mutual accountability and examination of teacher practices. We will focus our efforts once again on each and every child.
Student WESTEST results will be sent home on September 6. Once again state expectations have increased and a larger percentage of students did not meet state expectations. Because for the first time we did not meet Math expectations as a school in the “All” and “Low Socio Economic” groups we did not make adequate yearly progress (AYP). The AYP standards are ever increasing and more and more schools are not making AYP. We are discouraged by these results but only use them to strengthen our resolve to ensure all students learn the curriculum. Our mission and core beliefs are central to our daily practice, and I could not be more pleased with the job being done by the teachers at Center McMechen Elementary. We are fortunate to have these outstanding teachers all determined to maintain safe and successful learning environments.
I extend to you a welcome. Please feel free to call me or stop by my office if you have any questions. -Mr. Yoder
PTK Fundraiser
The PTK fundraiser will begin on Tuesday, Sept 6. We will again be using the Great Western Reserve to complete our fundraiser. Money again will be collected when the order is taken. So when orders are turned in students must also turn in the money to cover the order. The top seller will receive cash. Everyone will receive prizes. Top selling homerooms will participate in the “pig race” in November. Good Luck with making our fundraiser a big success.
Proceeds go to the PTK to help support field trips, field day, 5th grade promotion, and fun treats for all of our holiday activities. At the end of the year money is also put into the playground improvement fund for future playground expenses.
Sept -Fundraiser orders and money turned in Oct. TBA—projected item delivery week November —Prize DayNote from Mrs. Frazier
I am very happy to be working with the students of Center McMechen again this year. As in previous years, we will include the six pillars of character, TRUSTWORTHINESS, RESPECT, RESPONSIBILITY, FAIRNESS, CARING, and CITIZENSHIP in all guidance lessons. As students learn about the pillars, the goal is to have them incorporate them into daily school life.
We will also be implementing service and leadership opportunities in which grade 5 students will lead younger students in service projects. Look for more information regarding this unique and rewarding endeavor.
If you need to speak with me about your child, you may contact me at school or by email. cmfrazier@access.k12.wv.us Mrs. FrazierNurse's Note
The Cardiac Project is coming to CMES. The program is part of a research program conducted by WVU Dept. of Pediatrics. The purpose is to learn more about heart disease risk factors in children the their families. Early identification of risk factors can help reduce the risk of heart disease and promote wellness. This program is offered to kindergarten, second grade, and fifth grade classes. The fifth graders will be given the opportunity to have their cholesterol levels checked. This program will be at Center McMechen on September 30th. Please look for information to come home in early September.
Nurse Baker
TARDINESS IS A PROBLEM
Tardiness causes many problems for our students. Even a 5 minute tardy causes an interruption to a very important part of our school day. Students who consistently are tardy create a difficult situation as parents are often the reason for the tardiness. We teach bad habits at a young age if we allow this to continue. I will do everything possible to make secure routines happen for our children. I understand medical appointments and common illnesses but I hope you will join me in my efforts to stop the common practice of missing the first 5, 10 or 15 minutes of the school day.
Thank you,
Mr. Yoder
STANDARDS BASED REPORT CARDS K-2
We appreciate the support by parents of students in grades K,1,2 regarding our new report cards. We believe they are most effective for our young students and we support the implementation of the report card because.......
1. It is research based best practice for primary grades to which we should not say "no".
2. It is a step in the assessment continuum that began with assessment for learning in MCS in 2007.
3. It best describes strengths and weaknesses in academic performance of our primary age students.
4. It encourages a higher level of parent involvement to help students learn the crucial, fundamental elements of our curriculum.
5. It supports student involvement and ownership of performance.
6. It is authentic assessment based on what students can and can not do.......... Not a summative grade on tasks that required teacher assistance.
7. It clearly identifies what students are expected to learn.
8. It provides evidence of performance that builds strong PLC grade level commitments and accountability. Professional development needs then come from the interaction between standards and assessment results.
9. It establishes on going professional development instead of the "one time workshops".
10. It requires that quality of student work is judged by teachers using publicly known criteria derived from content standards instead of judgment by teachers using privately held standards
We practiced our CODE RED evacuation drill. We began by practicing our “Lock Down” plan. During this drill all students are accounted for and kept behind locked doors. We then evacuated as a fire drill. Again all students were accounted for after the building was emptied. This normally takes a little over a minute. Then we evacuated to an alternate location, the community building. In this way we will be prepared if our building is not safe and we need to dismiss to a safe location. In the event of an emergency you would be contacted through our county call out system which was utilized to announce our drill. Please explain the need to practice for emergencies with your child. Also, always provide updated contact information!!
STUDENT ACCIDENT INSURANCE RECOMMENDED Your child may have an accident at school. Each year students do indeed fall while playing in gym class or on the playground. Many times at Center McMechen those children are not covered by insurance and families experience the burden of paying a medical bill for a broken arm or sprained ankle. We do everything we can to maintain a safe environment but the truth of the matter is that children do find ways of getting hurt.
Since children are prone to injuries, we encourage you to review your health and accident insurance to see if it is adequate. If you do not have insurance or if your insurance has a large deductible or co-payment please consider buying the accident insurance as described in the brochure which is sent home today with this newsletter. School –time coverage is as low as $12 for the year. A better deal is the $68 for full-time coverage including after school hours and the summer months.
I strongly urge you to purchase accident insurance if your child is not covered by another insurance policy. Payment is made directly to the company with the envelop provided!
- Mr. Yoder